The Bank of England has warned that a vote on the UK’s membership of the European Union poses risks to economic growth, in a move that sees the central bank become increasingly active in the political debate.

Members of the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee - which vote on interest rates - said that concerns about a possible Brexit had weighed on the pound, and may “also delay some spending decisions and depress growth of aggregate demand in the near term”.

“There appears to be increased uncertainty surrounding the forthcoming referendum on UK membership of the European Union,” the MPC said in a statement published after its latest meeting, which finished on Thursday morning.

It continued: “That uncertainty is likely to have been a significant driver of the decline in sterling”.

As such, it has become impossible for the MPC to ignore the possibility of a Brexit in its analysis of the UK economy.

Bank of England governor Mark Carney Credit:
Michel Euler/AP Photo

James Knightley, an ING Bank economist, said that campaigners for a Brexit were “likely to be up in arms” that the Bank had come off the fence on the issue.

Mr Knightley added that the central bank’s commentary was “nothing more than stating the obvious, but it could be the first step into what could become a more concerted campaign to highlight the economic risks”.

It came as the MPC revealed that it had voted unanimously to keep the Bank’s interest rates at a record low for a seventh year. The central bank’s main policy rate has remained unchanged at 0.5pc since March 2009.

Howard Archer, an IHS Global Insight economist, said: “There currently looks to be every chance of an eighth anniversary of interest rates at 0.5pc in March 2017.” Markets currently anticipate that the Bank’s rates will remain at their historic lows until at least 2019.

Anders Svendsen, a Nordea economist, said that “uncertainties around a potential Brexit, financial market volatility, recent weak wage data and subdued global growth are all reasons for the Bank to remain on the sidelines”.